Change Your Attitude
I don’t particularly like change, in my personal or professional life. I find that that it is often irritating, frustrating and takes a lot of my precious time to absorb. But I have discovered that not only is change inevitable it is not always a bad thing. more...





Email Etiquette
Q: "Emails in the workplace can be irritating. They are either too long or too abrupt. Can you give me some tips for writing emails that are concise but not curt?" more...

Avoiding Burnout
Q: Our HR Department is overloaded. There are not enough hours in the day to meet the demands, and staff complain about being overwhelmed. How can we avoid burnout? more...

A Reasonable Alternative to Lunch Meetings
Q: Our organization has recently acquired a new division. The sales team is composed of two distinct groups: seasoned professionals — from the acquisition — and young, new recruits, all beginning their careers. The sales manager wants to encourage team members to work independently — to prospect actively within individual territories. We have a limited expense budget — how we can help these two divergent groups of employees develop and build client relations? Do you have any suggestions? Lunch meetings take too long and are just too expensive! more...

How Enforceable is a Zero Tolerance Policy?
Q: I am revising my current human resource policies. I would like to put in a “zero-tolerance policy” which results in an automatic termination for any employee who engages in theft, fraud or workplace harassment. In your experience would a court or labour arbitrator uphold a termination based on a breach of a zero tolerance policy? What are the factors that the courts and labour arbitrators consider in such cases? more...

When the Boss Isn’t Contributing
Q: I’m coordinating an important project that requires the involvement of a senior executive. This executive is routinely impossible to get a hold of—he doesn’t return calls or e-mail and I usually have to corner him in a hallway to get him to agree to a meeting. Then he always shows up late and has to be “brought up to speed.” This person is obviously not interested in this project but he is senior to me and I’m worried about “making waves” by going over his head and complaining. What should I do? more...

Downsizing and Restructuring: Navigating the Storm
As the economic downturn has deepened, many employers are trying to figure out how to reduce costs and adjust the size of their workforce. In the restructuring process, terminations may be inevitable. more...

Fraud – the ultimate illusion
The best stage illusionists use distraction and misdirection. Their illusions are clouded by mystery and secrecy. They make you believe in something that’s just not real. more...

Engaging and Retaining Boomers
With experts from Statistics Canada and the Conference Board of Canada predicting millions of baby boomers will retire soon, employers could find themselves in a tight labour market once the economy rebounds. more...